1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle-type vehicle having wheel well shields and a centrally located underbody splash guard member for protectively covering selected underbody portions of the vehicle.
2. Background Art
A conventional ATV (all-terrain vehicle) type vehicle (saddle-type vehicle), which is capable of running on a rough road or in an off-road environment, is provided with an underbody splash guard member for covering the lower side of the vehicle, and an engine is located on top of the underbody splash guard member. The underbody splash guard member is provided with a rising plate extending over the width of the vehicle body on a front portion of the engine. This rising plate functions to receive the mud splashed by front wheels during running on a rough road, thereby preventing the engine from being muddied (see Patent Document 1, for example).
In another conventional saddle-type vehicle, opposite side portions of an engine splash guard are bent upwardly on the lower side of bar steps to protect mounting bolts or a differential case, or to easily pass over obstacles (see Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, for example).
[Patent Document 1]—Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Sho 63-201890
[Patent Document 2]—Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Sho 62-19437
[Patent Document 3]—Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Sho 62-16086
However, in the case of steering a handlebar during running on a rough road, each front wheel is turned to the right or left to cause the generation of an extra space in a wheel well, so that there is a possibility that the mud splashed from this extra space may be directed toward the engine. This possibility may be eliminated by largely forming a fender defining the wheel well to reduce a gap or space toward the engine. However, this space is required for maintenance of a differential case or a suspension arm, for example. Accordingly, the fender must be removed in performing the maintenance, resulting in lack of convenience.